John Siddique - Signposts of the Spiritual Journey

Signposts of the Spiritual Journey

John Siddique

First published in the UK and USA in 2021 by

Watkins, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited

Unit 11, Shepperton House, 8393 Shepperton Road

London N1 3DF

Design and typography copyright Watkins Media Limited 2021

Text copyright John Siddique 2021

The right of John Siddique to be identified as the Author of this text has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78678-517-6 (Paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-78678-611-1 (eBook)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ Books Ltd.

Typeset by Lapiz

www.watkinspublishing.com

For my beautiful son Adonis

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My deepest gratitude to Alex Joicey, who invited me to write a short essay that directly led to this book coming into existence. I wish to extend my thanks to Fiona Robertson and Daniel Culver, my very kind editors at Watkins, and Steve Marshall, our copyeditor.

Though I am not aligned with any formal religion or tradition, I bow in love and gratitude to those who have walked before and beside me as guides through their teachings, presence and inspiration: Stephen Levine, Donald Shimoda, Paul Brunton, Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nisargadatta, Pema Chodron, Ram Dass, Swami Janakananda, and most especially beloved Sri Swami Satchidananda and my students, who perhaps are my real teachers.

I hold in heart and memory my mum Norah ONeill and my brother/friend Chris Robinson, both of who left their forms between the previous book and this one.

And of course, all love to my son to whom this book is dedicated, and my wife Abha, who is the reason I am here.

INTRODUCTION

Whatever has led you to pick up this book, please know that you are most welcome here. This book is for anyone who feels the pull to understand more about allowing a greater sense of meaning into their life and the journey that is often called the spiritual path. This welcome extends to you regardless of your background, politics, education, place of birth, or current situation. Because what we are talking about in this little book is realizing the genuine awareness of the truth of who we are before all of those things. This book at heart reflects on the profound evolution that is both natural and inherent to humanity and, therefore, you. Though when we look at the world through the lens of the days circumstances, things may seem far from progressing consciously.

Its easy to believe that you have to be a certain kind of person to realize sacredness or find the spiritual in your life. Perhaps you have an idea of some kind as to what qualities you think that person may have or that you may not have. But whether you are what the current society calls a good person or not, you are not closed out from lifes real purpose. Even if you are someone who has committed the worst of crimes, you are not removed in any way from the truth of what is. We may, for whatever reason, think that we are flawed or irredeemable in some way or that this journey is impossible for a person like us. If only you knew me, youd see, you might want to say. I hear this one every day. Not one person who has ever lived or will ever live is removed from the sacred by even a hairs breadth. We might be wholly unconscious of this, and like most people, be living through the things we identify with, but not one of us is lost from sight. The soul is unstainable and is not involved in any of that, no matter how entrenched or large things might look. We may, however, have some work to do to clear our sight so that we may see, and more importantly, realize who we are at the deepest level.

People come to the spiritual path through many routes, from taking up a mindfulness or yoga practice and wanting to know what comes next or from a time of personal crisis in their selfhood or relationships. Often endings or close calls are what begins to open the door for a lot of people. Sometimes it can be the voice of your soul crying out or breaking through the current situation, and for some there is a sense of something deeper within them, like a constant companion in their lives, or it may be even a combination of these feelings. As you have picked this book up, there must be something calling to you, asking you to step further onto your path, to undertake the most essential journey there is. I invite you to connect with that sense now as these words speak to you.

There are many easily recognizable signposts that can help you see where you are and where you are going. These indicators or signifiers can even point to what is going on in areas that you might not be conscious of yet. It is essential to state here at the outset that the path of awakening, or enlightenment, is not one of asking you to believe in something, but rather, perhaps, reassuring you that it is a path of adventure, of allowing, and ultimately finding out for yourself. You know the reality of the ground under your feet by the sense of authenticity that comes naturally with anything true. Just so, you are invited to lean into that grounded knowing within yourself here too.

As you can see from what we call the news each day, as a species and as tribes and individuals, we tend to cling to conditioned identities that reinforce who we believe we are as people, and as countries and so on. You might recognize that this prevents a great deal of our evolution and potential from taking place both materially and spiritually. However, even these limitations cannot stop life from knocking at your door. Life doesnt ever give up on you. Every moment of every day asks you to be at home in the reality of what is. This is perhaps one of the greatest miracles that shows that the truth is within reach of anyone. It is in reach of you at this very second.

Every moment is the most significant opportunity for meaning and awakening. The taking of the tiniest step, even a trillionth of a millimetre into awareness and away from resistance, is a step that will lead you toward home. Lifes essential movement is to lead you to your wholeness and truth. If we look at ourselves and the world without judgement, we will see that we too often resist the motion of lifes purpose in almost everything we do.

PAUSE FOR REFLECTION

What did that earlier invitation to connect to what made you pick up this book tell you? Where in you do you feel this urge to step onward?

Ordinariness as the path

The journey of enlightenment is really about your ordinary life. Yes, the one you are living right now. There is no requirement to be someone other than the person you are. The truth is that it is not some distant goal or belief system out there that you have to align yourself with. It is about you and the journey toward congruence and awareness with your soul. In reality, there is no journey to be made, but because we are caught up in things to the level that we are, it can look like a journey, or a job of work, for the longest time. Eventually, you will realize the truth rather than believing in stories of it, and you will see that you have always been whole. That you have never not been your soul. You could not be here and alive in this moment if this were not true. There is no reconnection to be made or belief to believe in. You are not even the space of a single breath away from reality.